Learning also has become more visual and hands on. Collaboration and communication have increased.

In a world where technology is integrated into just about every profession, educators say it’s never too early for students to become comfortable using it.

So the process begins on the first day of kindergarten.

Among the more aggressive area school districts when it comes to technology are District 709 in Morton and District 308 in Washington.

In April, the District 709 School Board approved what Superintendent Lindsey Hall called a “groundbreaking” three-year lease/purchase agreement with Apple for 1,930 iPad 4 devices to be used by teachers and students.

Thanks to the purchase, and repurposing of iPad 2 units being used by teachers, beginning with this school year:

►Each student in grades 9 through 12 will have access to a personal device. Students can use their own device or a district-provided iPad at school and home.

►Each student in grades 5 through 8 will have a district-provided iPad for use at school and home.

►Early childhood through fourth-grade classrooms will have one district-provided iPad for every two students. By the 2016-2017 school year, there will be one district-provided iPad for each student.

Teachers and students in grades 5 through 12 will use the iPad 4 tablets. The teachers’ iPad 2 units will be repurposed for early childhood through fourth-grade classrooms.

Extensive professional development for teachers and infrastructure upgrades laid the groundwork for the iPad lease/purchase deal.

Hall said she wants the district to be a leader in personal computing devices to prepare students for “life beyond District 709.”

Dozens of district parents attended a May open house at Morton High School to hear about the district’s personal computing initiative, ask questions and watch students demonstrate how they’re already using technology in the classroom.

But, not surprisingly, most questions from parents involved Internet security when iPads are brought home, and care of the devices.

“The best Internet filter is you,” said Teater, who advised parents to have their children work in an open area where they can be monitored.

Just like when textbooks are damaged, Teater said, parents can expect to pay fines for lost, broken or stolen iPads.

Page 2 of 3 - That’s because technology isn’t cheap.

The district’s technology budget jumped from $703,409 in 2010 to $1,134,654 in 2014, and there probably will be a slight increase for 2015.

To help cover the cost, the district will charge a technology fee of $15 for K-4 students and $45 for grade 5-12 students starting this school year.

Don Sturm and Lauri VanDerVoorn are on the front line of the district’s technology boom.

Sturm is the technology integration specialist for Morton Junior High School and Morton High School, a new position.

The veteran U.S. history teacher remains the head of the high school’s social studies department.

VanDerVoorn is the technology integration specialist for prekindergarten through sixth grade.

They work together, and their duties go beyond their job titles. Sturm also is focusing on professional development and VanDerVoorn on data systems.

Sturm is excited about his new role. He calls himself an “experimenter” in the classroom who is always thinking of ways students can benefit from technology.

“It’s not just cool that we have all these iPads,” he said. “We have to use them to prepare our students for the real world. It’s important that our high school graduates leave here with the technology skills they need for college and the workplace.”

Technology isn’t only for older students, either.

“Students are doing things at an early age that we never dreamed they’d be doing,” VanDerVoorn said.

For example, she said, a teacher in a Morton first-grade classroom has her students use an iPad app that records how they solve a math problem.

The recording, showing the work and student’s accompanying voice explanation, can be played back on a whiteboard so other students can benefit.

Chromebooks are District 308’s technology choice at Washington Community High School.

The district bought 400 of the low-cost laptops for use in science, social studies and math classes in a pilot program for the 2013-2014 school year and has purchased 300 more for other subjects.

“Teachers who used the Chromebooks last year said engagement increased and students did a better job of completing assignments,” said Amber Heffner, the district’s director of technology.

“They also found that students who are hesitant about speaking in class now have a way of participating in discussions.”

Heffner said a few former WCHS students who graduated before the Chromebooks were put into use told her their transition to college was more difficult than expected because they didn’t have the technology training.

A new tech support internship class, taught by Jeff Brooks, will make its debut at the high school this fall.

Page 3 of 3 - Students will respond to technology issues at the high school and take online courses to earn tech support accreditation.

Seventy-five juniors and seniors signed up for the class, which will be held in two sections.

Students aren’t restricted to Chromebooks. Heffner said they can use their own devices such as iPads, laptops and cellphones in the classroom and at home.